(UPDATE@1:44 pm on Nov. 4 to add a link to prominent economist Jeffrey Sachs' reaction to Jankowsky's editorial)
The Obama administration is talking out of both sides of its mouth regarding special interests, writes longtime D.C. lobbyist Joel Jankowsky in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece Tuesday.
He argues the White House has welcomed top campaign donors while ostracizing lobbyists as tainted:
"Campaign contributors, especially those who bundled large contributions from others, have been embraced by this administration. Because they aren't formally registered or regulated in the way lobbyists are, they enjoy the benefits and privileges of serving in the heart of the administration. These contributors serve in critical foreign and domestic policy positions, as well as department and agency boards and commissions. Dozens of Obama for America National Finance Committee members have joined the administration. Most of them raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the campaign, according to the watchdog group the Center for Responsive Politics."
Jankowsky adds:
"This inconsistent treatment does a disservice to federal policy making. Talented women and men who registered themselves as lobbyists under the Lobbying Disclosure Act are being excluded from contributing their expertise at a critical time in our nation's history."
Jeffrey Sachs, economist and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University took issue with Jankowsky's argument, calling it "preposterous" on the Huffington Post.
He says: "Lobbyists may indeed be talented people of expertise, but they are part of a dysfunctional system that has turned policy over to the highest corporate bidder and that puts our economy and society in jeopardy."
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